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| A bacterium of helicobacter pylori |
Helicobacter pylori is kind of bacteria that is harmful to humans. It is most often found in the stomach on the mucus walls specifically in the antrum and when present, it can cause stomach pains and inflammation of the stomach lining which can lead to ulcers and stomach cancer. It is usually about 3 micrometers long and in the picture to the right and below, you can see that it is a bacillus bacteria because of its rod shape. You can also see the flagella coming off the end. These help the bacteria to move through liquids like lumen in the stomach. However, lumen is acidic and helicobacter pylori survives better in a neutral chemical so when it senses lumen, it swims away to a more neutral part of the stomach. Ulcers develop in one out of every six people that are infected by the bacteria. There are several tests that can be used to detect if the bacteria have infected someone. Once someone is infected by helicobacter pylori it is difficult to kill off the bacteria. This is because when that person is given antibiotics, the bacteria often develops an immunity to the medicine. To help avoid this, several antibiotics are often taken at once to decrease the probability of the bacteria developing an immunity. Another way to get rid of this harmful bacteria is by way of another kind of bacteria,lactobacillus casei. This bacteria is also found in the stomach near where helicobacter pylori is found and can help to fight against it. | |
A bacterium of helicobacter pylori |
Sources:
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Helicobacter+pylori
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori
http://www.medicinenet.com/helicobacter_pylori/article.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactobacillus_casei
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=13896396
Image Sources:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2005/press.html
http://i.rosaceans.com/archives/497
http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Helicobacter_pylori__The_Bacteria_that_Cause_Ulcers_a71.html
Peter,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog post on Helicobacter Pylori Bacteria. It was very informative, and I learned a lot. The pictures helped me understand the bacteria even better. Specifically, I liked the diagram of the bacteria, because it illustrated the steps of the bacteria infecting the body very nicely.
Awesome job!
Ps. I like your blog name!
How is the bacteria bale to develop an immunity to the antibiotics? Is this a process that takes an extended period of time?
ReplyDeleteIn order to develop an antibiotic resistance, bacteria have to be exposed to the antibiotic. The longer that they are exposed to it, the more likely they are to develop a resistance. What happens is that over time, the bacteria learn the way the that the antibiotics fight and based off this they learn to prevent the antibiotics from doing things that kill the bacteria or simply learn to fight against the antibiotics and kill them. Because they have to be exposed to an antibiotic for some time to be able to develop a resistance, this process often does take an extended period of time.
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